BACOLOD City – Two alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were killed in a gun battle with troops of the Philippine Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion (15IB) in Barangay Yao-yao, Cauayan, Negros Occidental on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 7.
The Army has yet to identify the two male fatalities who were suspected members of the NPA’s South West Front – Platoon 3.
According to the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), the 15IB soldiers responded to the area after receiving reports from residents that they had spotted several armed men, believed to be NPA rebels in Sitio Cambaga.
The armed insurgents were also reported to be extorting and engaging in recruitment activities among the local populace.
Upon arriving in the area a gun battle immediately ensued between the government troops and 10-man NPA rebels at the latter’s encampment site.
The firefight lasted for about 10 minutes until the insurgents were forced to retreat.
The 3ID added that as the rebels were retreating, they stumbled into another 15IB troop prompting a second gun battle, resulting in the deaths of the two rebels.
Government forces recovered an M653 rifle, an M14 rifle along with several magazines, a caliber .45 pistol, an anti-personnel mine, and assorted ammunition.
Also recovered were medical kits and the insurgents’ personal belongings which also contained subversive documents, as well as documents described by the 3ID as “of high intelligence value.”
The 15IB further believed the rebels they encountered belonged to the same group the 47th Infantry Battalion soldiers clashed with in Kabankalan City last September, which led to the deaths of six rebels.
In a separate radio interview, 15IB Civil Military Officer 1st Lieutenant Weann Sandag said they also got reliable information of the insurgents’ presence in the area after they were tipped off by four rebels who had recently surrendered to government forces.
Sandag said the rebels were camping at the area for almost a week already.
Major General Marion Sison, 3ID commander, meanwhile, congratulated the 302nd Infantry Brigade and 15IB for the significant feat, adding that the NPA’s South West Front is nearly dismantled. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
